


Aryll Left

by Kyoupann



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Character Death, Drowning, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Linked Universe, Post-Adventure, Time and Twi are mentioned and that about it, ksksks otherwise this is extrictly Wind waker im sowwy, post-LU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26910220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyoupann/pseuds/Kyoupann
Summary: Aryll left.And with her, she took the crabs and shells at the shore.She put them inside the little pockets at the sides of her dress, patted them safe and hopped onto her boat.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 44





	Aryll Left

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Aryll nos dejó](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28137765) by [Kyoupann](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyoupann/pseuds/Kyoupann)



Aryll left.

And with her, she took the sun and the stars.

Aryll left.

And with her, she took the crabs and shells at the shore.

She put them inside the little pockets at the sides of her dress, patted them safe and hopped onto her boat. 

The day after she left, there was no warm air dancing through the trees, no playful wind ruffling his hair. He stepped outside into the porch and felt the cold caress of autumn’s first blow. It did nothing but remind him that there was a day when his little sister felt the need to leave and never come back.

From the door, he sees the observation deck and he can’t bring himself to go up its ladder; if he squints from where he stands, he can see her, the little girl with the little pigtails and the little sandals and the little blue dress and the little hands carrying a telescope a tad too big. He doesn’t go up there. No, he can’t; in his mind, she’s still looking out for merchants and pirates, and sometimes for ma and pa, and he’s afraid that if he goes up there, his memories of her will be replaced by an old and empty lookout spot.

His gaze falls on the shore and he can see it clearly; her little sister, determined as ever, walking into the seemingly calm waters, swimming through the waves and willingly letting be drifted away. She knew the ocean was to be respected, but never feared. Like an old friend, the ocean welcomed her, he knows, and it hurts.

It was so sudden. So unexpected. So tragic.

There was no build-up. No tension. It just sort of happened.

Boats were arranged and soon there’s a rescue team set on finding her. Hours went by and all they found is an empty ocean.

It’s almost sundown when his heart stops, but the world around him continues; the ocean has mercy on him and her little sister is again with him, but her skin is too cold, and her torso bloated.

There’s a small service that very same night. The elders of the village were kind enough to prepare her for her final goodbye. A few words to remember her by were shared; a couple of anecdotes for the friends, and prayers for the soul.

It’s in the middle of a prayer that he stands up and walks to the coffin in the middle of the room. He looks at her for the first time after finding her. The more time passes, the less he recognises the corpse, but it doesn’t matter anymore.

A grim laugh escapes his lips, he can’t help it. Just a couple months back they were fighting for who would share rest with Grandma. It was something they would often bicker since she left: ‘’she loved me more, it’s my right!” and “shut up! It’s gonna be me!”. And sure, in the end, it was Aryll who go it.

But isn’t that fitting? He knows that it was grandma who came for her; her last concern before leaving this world, her little girl, her sea flower, her Aryll.

When everyone is gone and he is left with his thoughts and the decaying body of her little sister, he allows himself to cry. And it hurts and it aches worse than any stab, arrow or bomb wound. Sobs shake his body and screams fill the room. He kicks and hits, grasping for a life he knows he wasn’t destined to save. And he wonders if this is how the Old Man felt when they lost Twilight two years ago during their adventure, if all this pain, all this helplessness ever becomes bearable.

Instead of going up the observation deck, he turns and walks to the back of their— _his_ — house where the burial is taking place. He knows he is expected to say some words like he did when Grandma passed away, but he can’t do it.

As they lower her down, he doesn’t cry anymore. He is just thinking of all the things he could’ve done to prevent this from happening so soon. Maybe if he hadn’t answered the Goddess’ call and stayed with her instead, she wouldn’t have felt as lonely. Maybe the others would have fared themselves well enough without him. But if there is anything that comforts him, if only a little, is the thought that she went away in her own terms and that she spent her last moments in the place she loved the most, the ocean. Sure, he is sad to be utterly alone, but he will allow himself to be angry and bitter later.

With a final look, he thinks he hears the Old Man say _leave her_.

He leaves Aryll and, with her, a telescope with painted seagulls.

* * *

They say the summer breeze carried her away, in the likeness of her gulls. That she took off to be free. Never alone again. But Link knows better than to believe that. His little sister didn’t need no wind to soar, for she was the wind in his sails and the salt on his cheeks.

Aryll left.

And with her, she took the sun and stars, the crabs and the shells, and the summer breeze.

Aryll left,

And with her, his sailing days left too.

Aryll left.

And all she left was an empty shore.

**Author's Note:**

> grief is wack, my dudes. 
> 
> Something-something happened this week and it threw me out, so here you have some thoughts.
> 
> If you ever wanna chat about anything zelda, hit me up on tumblr @kyoupann or discord Kyo☆#4531
> 
> Any comments/kudos/bookmarks are deeply valued and stored in my heart <3


End file.
